Restaurant Week Winter 2018!! I’ve managed to hit 3 (or will) this week. Chillfire in Denver, The Foundry in Denver and Fiamma in Charlotte. Oh be still my heart! Fiamma was so worth the wait. I’ve had it on my wish list forever! It is authentically Italian, probably some of the best I’ve had in this area. Their fish is flown in daily from Europe and they hand make all of their pasta.

Fiamma is also open for lunch Monday through Saturday, so you can try it during the day if you can’t make it for Restaurant week or forget to make reservations at night. You can easily make reservations online through Open Table, though, so don’t forget. This place is hopping!

The service here is top-notch. I found all of the staff to be kind, knowledgeable and prompt. I felt cared for, but never bothered. This is a true accomplishment during harried Restaurant week!

Let’s talk about the food. YUMMM!

When you sit down, they bring out a plate of fresh bread and crunchy bread sticks to dip in this luscious and tangy pesto. If I had a big bowl of that pesto and a hunk of bread, I think I’d be happy. It was so good!

St. Germain Coctail: Prosecco, St. Germain liquor, on the rocks with lemon and lime.

Refreshing and crisp, this is my favorite cocktail ever. Reminds me of a sweeter mojito.

This was a perfect hearty warm salad. The calamari was tender and not rubbery and provided a perfect canvas for the avocado and tomato to give it such flavor. The girls were mostly impressed with the party hat on the lemon, though.

This was my first course, and it was lovely! A basic salad, but sometimes that’s just exactly what I want, a simple salad, with fresh ingredients that are all perfect. This hit all of the marks.

Then came this palate cleanser: orange sherbet. I was charmed 🙂

MAIN COURSE

Veal Ossobuco (Fiamma’s Specialty) – braised veal shank served with a side of saffron risotto

This was the best dish of the night. The veal was so tender it fell apart with a touch of the fork. The sauce it was simmered in was so flavorful and rich, you could tell it had reduced for hours. The one blight on the meal was the saffron risotto. It was so salty, it was inedible. No, we didn’t send it back. Restaurant week is super busy and we were seriously enjoying everything else so much it became an afterthought.

Branzino – Mediterranean fish stuffed with fresh seafood and served with spinach, potatoes, and asparagus

This was my selection. It was incredibly hardy. I couldn’t believe how much seafood it had, especially during restaurant week! They truly don’t skimp on portions. The wine sauce was light and really let the homemade pasta and seafood stand out as the stars. I took most of it home and it was even better the next day.

With so many people going with the trend of tapas or “small plates”, what could be easier for entertaining than a Bruschetta Bar? I resolve in 2018 to entertain more because I love it! And this simple menu allows guests to informally relax and make their own bruschetta, or choose from the few baked varieties I include.

This idea came to me from What’s Gaby Cooking. She’s got the goods on what you should put on your board, what is essential for the party and even recipes for some delicious toppings. Just click the link to check her out. This is her picture, doesn’t it look scrumptious?

In addition to Gaby’s bountiful spread, I’m sharing some of my favorite bruschetta recipes. I love anything artichoke, and this first one is yummy.

ARTICHOKE BRUSCHETTA

INGREDIENTS

1 (6 ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1/3 cup minced onion

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

mayonnaise

16 -18 slices of a small baguette ( 1/3″ thick)

DIRECTIONS

Chop artichokes well.

Mix artichokes, onion, and Parmesan cheese.

Add just enough mayonnaise to make spreadable.

Add garlic powder, mix well.

Spread baguette slices with artichoke spread and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until topping starts to bubble and brown.

Here’s another favorite of mine. Originally it was from the Olive Garden website. Really delicious and simple to make and keep in fridge ’til party time!

Girl Nosh visited the Block Bistro with a small crowd a few months ago. We started with 10 and had to change dates due to a family emergency. When we rescheduled everyone had full calendars. Such is life.

Honestly, it might have been a stroke of luck, since that was my only complaint of the night: the time it took for us to get our dinners. We’ll get to that.

First, the place is off the beaten path. I love that. It is tucked back in a neighborhood, and if you weren’t looking for it specifically, you’d have no idea it was even there. Parking was sparse. We found some parallel parking nearby, but I can imagine on a busy night that might be an issue.

The signage when we were there wasn’t clear. I wasn’t 100% sure I was in the right place, but went on in since nothing else was around where GPS said the restaurant was. The signage points to the bar upstairs.

We began with cocktails. We relied on the waiter for recommendations, and they didn’t steer us wrong. Very good bartender!

The choices for appetizers were few, but what we had was executed well and delicious. Our table had fried green tomatoes and crab cakes.

The salad course was a wedge salad. This is a really well executed salad. The wedge is lightly grilled, then topped generously with bacon, red onion, blue cheese, Roma tomatoes, drizzled with honey balsamic reduction and dressed with blue cheese dressing. This was probably my favorite dish of the night.

Our dinners were great, too, once they arrived. For some reason there was a disconnect between salad and main dish and we waited a very long time. I got the shrimp and grits, which were delicious, but very rich. The sauce the shrimp was in was made with cream, which was different from what I was used to, and made the dish a bit heavy. It’s a solid dish, just beware: it’s a lot. The grilled fish and the sandwich were pronounced great too.

Dessert was for me, just OK. We split these two selections (all they offered) with the table. I was not wowed by either, so would skip if asked again.

If you are looking for a restaurant that is a little quiet, off the beaten path and has a solid menu with dinner selections and casual choices for a pub bite, this restaurant is perfect for you.

Harvest Moon Grille is a unique eatery in downtown Lincolnton that is such a breath of fresh air. Their website says “an adventure in freshly foraged foods” and it is an adventure. The menu is different each time I visit. This is because they are farmers themselves, and build the menu off of what is currently available for harvest in their own and other local farms. And they make EVERYTHING…they make their breads, their soups, their sauces, their stocks, their dressings and their desserts. They even have a shelf for locally made products to take home with you. In addition to that, they cater: at their place, on site or boxed lunches for picnics lakeside. If you’d like to learn from these tremendous chefs, they also offer Saturday classes which include lunch!

They offer breakfast and lunch, both available from open to close. You can also get dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. On the day we visited my son got breakfast and I got lunch. The dining room is smallish, but you feel cozy, not cramped. The walls are filled with art from local artists. If the weather is nice, you should opt to eat outside on the patio. They have a very comfortable patio overlooking Main Street.

We opted for a locally crafted soda made in Waynesville, NC. The Raspberry Cream was fizzy with just the right amount of sweet. It’s the best. I love how they are served with a mason jar full of ice.

This is the child’s portion (Junior) of French Toast. He said it was delicious!

I had a falafel sandwich and a cup of tomato soup. The brioche bun that the sandwich came on was made fresh in house and was out of this world delicious. The falafel was a tiny bit loose for my liking, so ended up being too messy for me. The bitter greens brought a peppery element to the dish and the cucumber sauce (tzatziki) was tangy and cool. I have to say, the smallest detail was my favorite. The house-made pickles were perfect. Just pickled enough to be tasty, but still had a fresh taste. These chefs really know their way around the kitchen.

The tomato soup (served in a little mason jar!!) was also fresh and homemade. It didn’t taste like Campbell’s, didn’t taste like it came from a bag (I’m looking at you, Fatz) it tasted like it was made from my grandmother’s canned tomatoes. The drizzle of olive oil on top gave it a richness so it didn’t need cream.

As most foodies know, a large part of the dining experience is the service. If the food is magnificent, you can get away with slightly lesser service, but Cajun Queen wasn’t tasty enough (but it was good!) to counter the experience of bad service.

The free valet is a nice touch, because parking is a beast around there. The hostess was busy but seated us kindly. Then the waiter showed up. He seemed put out with us, but as the night progressed, it became clear that he might have been irritated with a loud party behind us, because he became slightly less aggravated when they left. The second bummer of the night was where we were sitting seemed to be a hugely traveled path for people coming and going all night long. I was bumped every few seconds all night long. Tiresome. Though this did help:

The food. The food was good. Some of us had yummier food than others, but we all agreed it was just fine.

This Seafood Gumbo should have been blowing my doors off with flavor, but instead it was just okay. I was a little disappointed with the mildness of it. Needed something.

I had the Crawfish Etouffee and it was really too similar to the gumbo. I should have made a better choice. But, it had the same problems as the Gumbo, being too bland. I guess I just expected more.

This is Chicken Diane. It’s a sautéed breast of chicken with mushrooms, green onions, Cajun spices, garlic, butter and parsley. All served over rice. Though it was pretty rich, it was a solid dish.

Dessert was again, fine. There really weren’t that many choices, so I chose pecan pie. It was fine, presentation was pretty lame. I know, what can you do with a slice of pie. But 3 or 4 puffs of whip cream from a can has to be one of the least fancy ways to dress it.

We may try it again, perhaps we were there on an off night? I do like to give a few chances before writing a place off, but this night was not a good showing for this landmark Charlotte restaurant.

My kids wear me out on Asian food. I love it, but not EVERY.SINGLE.TIME we get to go out to eat. But, knowing this, I use this to get them to go on errands with me that they’d rather not do. Give and take.

This place I didn’t mind going. It’s new to us, it’s in Birkdale Village..and turns out it is awfully good. Everything we had was delicious and you can bring your dogs with you and sit on the patio. It was a perfect night for it, too.

We started with Dumplings. The waitress advised us to get the pan-fried ones because the steamed dumplings got cold and gummy. She was right. Those little pork filled nuggets were warm, just crispy and perfect when dipped in the sauce. That was a favorite.

We also tried the Spicy Wontons. I thought wontons were like those above, but here they were steamed and very pliant. Even though it wasn’t what we thought, these soft pillows filled with pork and shrimp were incredible and we all agreed (even our seafood hater!) that we’d get them again.

For my dinner, I had the Tom Yum Noodle Bowl. It was so spicy and delicious! Sour broth chock full of homemade noodles, shrimps, bok choy and flavored with lemongrass. If I ever get sick, someone better bring me this soupy goodness. It’s miracle healing level good.

Ty got his standard…ahem… Thai/Ty dish: Pad Thai! He said it was sweet and delicious, with peanuts, chicken and chewy noodles. It came with 2 limes to counter balance the sweetness of the sauce with a little added acid. Perfect!

Mary Ashley got her standard: Sushi. She had two rolls. The first was called Bubba Shrimp roll. It was tempura friend shrimp in the middle, with ebi shrimp on top, covered with shrimp sauce. It was her favorite. She wouldn’t let me try it. Her second roll was a Volcano roll, which was a friend roll with crab and crab salad. She did let me try that, and it was really really good. Especially with the cream cheese inside. Loved!

For dessert we got Bubble Tea! The tea part was delicious, but I’m on the fence about those bubbles. They are gelatinous masses (Tapioca pearls, I’ve heard) that are barely flavored and just make your drink chewy. I don’t get it. Anyway, we got Thai tea flavored and Mary Ashley got Taro. Hers was the best…it tasted like a sugar cookie.

The service here was also impeccable. The place is smallish on the inside, but it was not overflowing with folks when we got there. Lots of windows and high ceilings do a lot for not feeling crowded. We’ve found a new favorite spot.